I'm not sure I want to continue this line of dialog. I do admit that you guys seem to be quite well read on the subjects at hand. I also admit that many of my points have been made on emotion. What can I say? I'm an emotional guy! In talking with my brother about it today I've decided that maybe I am in fact a pacifist afterall. I never thought about that before. I guess thats why I never joined the military and maybe its a good thing that people like you are the guys who have to make these hard decisions. Anyway, its been a good discussion, and I look forward to whatever you guys post in the future.

If I may add - we understand the root cause of war is sin. So we will never be without war while we live on Earth. Sometimes war is unjustified. But we can't overlook that some wars are justified as well. Is Iraq justified? The Church says that reasonable people can debate it, but what we can't say is that all war in unjustifiable.

Why?

Because we can see from the OT that war was justified. David said, "Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle (Psalm 144:1)." The Bible tells us David was rewarded by God for keeping all the Lord's commands.
Jesus is Lord. To say that war was justifiable in the OT but not today with the creation of the NT is denying that God is forever unchanging Heb 13:8. Jesus did not do away with the OT, he fulfilled it in the NT.

We can never forget that we are here to "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4).". There are wicked people in the world, God says to deliver people from them.

That is not to say war is good. Our duty is to say is war avoidable, and then act.

Your post concerning the OT is right on the mark. However, Jesus ushers in a new covenant. The scriptures concerning divorce speak to this point. He did not fault Joseph, but the people of Joseph time. He did not repel the OT and divorce, but states that the new law is that divorce is not to be. Christ is Love and Christ is Peace.

War is hell but there are times that we must fight and defend our country. Those in the military depend on our Commander in Chief and Congress to make that decision. We are not in a position to vote on the matter. The USCCB supported members in the military during the Iraq war, although John Paul II was against the war.

A book of FIQH approved by Al Azhar university. An excellent source when it comes to the proscriptions moslems must abide by, check out their 'requirements' while visiting the lavatory and the punishment for apostasy. If you happen to have the Reliance of the Traveller at home, there is not one moslem or moslem apologist that can pull the wool over your eyes when they tell you that DEATH IS NOT THE PUNISHMENT FOR APOSTASY, because it is or any other subject, anything and everything is inside that book.

New books, but they have an interesting twist when it comes to studying islam, they make great sense, hard to read especially if you do not want to come face to face with facts about exactly how many lives the 1400 yrs of jihad has claimed.

Bernard Lewis, great reputation and he blew Edward Said's theory of Orientalisam (book of same title) into a billion pieces, since his 'predictions' concerning islam and the resurgetn jihad have come true.

Lewis is a bit soft on islam, or perhaps I should say he speaks of it as if he was looking at it via rose colored glasses.

Bat Ye'or, Daughter of the Nile, she studies dhimmitude (the islamic concept of the dhimma - protected people a.k.a. people of the book a.k.a. Jews & Christians).

Also her book Eurabia, written as a warning for the United States about creeping islamization and tracking of Europes voluntary islamization helped by their intelligenstia, via various 'accords' undertaken.

A book of FIQH approved by Al Azhar university. An excellent source when it comes to the proscriptions moslems must abide by, check out their 'requirements' while visiting the lavatory and the punishment for apostasy. If you happen to have the Reliance of the Traveller at home, there is not one moslem or moslem apologist that can pull the wool over your eyes when they tell you that DEATH IS NOT THE PUNISHMENT FOR APOSTASY, because it is or any other subject, anything and everything is inside that book.

New books, but they have an interesting twist when it comes to studying islam, they make great sense, hard to read especially if you do not want to come face to face with facts about exactly how many lives the 1400 yrs of jihad has claimed.

Bernard Lewis, great reputation and he blew Edward Said's theory of Orientalisam (book of same title) into a billion pieces, since his 'predictions' concerning islam and the resurgetn jihad have come true.

Lewis is a bit soft on islam, or perhaps I should say he speaks of it as if he was looking at it via rose colored glasses.

Bat Ye'or, Daughter of the Nile, she studies dhimmitude (the islamic concept of the dhimma - protected people a.k.a. people of the book a.k.a. Jews & Christians).

Also her book Eurabia, written as a warning for the United States about creeping islamization and tracking of Europes voluntary islamization helped by their intelligenstia, via various 'accords' undertaken.